What Is A Snow Day?
A snow day is when school is cancelled for children due to safety concerns for staff and especially for students. They often occur after a snowstorm or other large amount of snow falls in a single night. One can also occur if a large amount of snow or other severe storm is expected during the day.
Even if you properly prepare for a blizzard, enough snow or ice falling in one go can make it unsafe for children to go to school. There are many potential dangers involved in sending children to school after or during a snowstorm. These dangers include:
Hypothermia.
Frostbite.
There is an increased potential for a collision if the kid is being driven by a parent or is on the bus due to large amounts of ice.
Increased risk of being run over by a vehicle due to excessive ice.
Risk of a snowbank falling onto a kid.
Injury after slipping and falling.
Risk of being lost in a whiteout if travelling during snowfall.
It should also be noted that schools are often poorly equipped to handle situations such as blackouts in the middle of a school day. As blackouts are a serious possibility during heavy snowfall, kids will often be safer at home if enough snow is set to fall.
How Much Snow Is Needed For A Snow Day?
How much snow is needed to cause a snow day is not set in stone. While a lot of snow in itself can cause school to be cancelled, there are plenty of other factors involved. What it usually comes down to is safety. This is especially true with schools, as children are much more likely to get hurt due to not knowing what to do to protect themselves, and they don’t know how to do things like how to prevent and treat frostbite. Usually, if there is a reasonable belief that children could be in danger, its possible that school might be cancelled for children.
What Other Factors Can Determine If It Is A Snow Day?
Many factors determine whether or not a snow day is called. Some of these other factors include:
Temperature. A colder temperature puts staff and children at greater risk of frostbite and hypothermia, increasing the risk of people staying home that day.
Ice and road conditions. More ice on the road and sidewalk can make travel dangerous. This is especially true with situations like black ice and freezing rain that make driving even more dangerous.
Wind. Stronger winds, especially when sustained, can lead to a wind chill and can impact visibility by causing whiteout conditions.
Area Norms. Places where snow and ice are more common will be better equipped to handle the situation. As a result, if two cities have similar conditions, one where people and municipalities are more experienced in dealing with snow might be less likely to call one.
Blackouts. If there is a blackout or a strong possibility of one, schools might be closed.
Difficulty in determining conditions. If conditions during and/or after the school day are unpredictable, it is possible that a snow day will be called out of caution.
The number of previous snow days in that season. If it is late in the winter, and no cancellations have happened yet this school year have been called, it is more likely that one will be called since there is more leeway in the schedule.
Please note that these are not the only factors that can determine whether or not a snow day will be called in your local area on a particular day. Please keep in mind that each municipality will often weigh each of these factors differently as well, and there is no set guide to determining if school will be cancelled.
Who Decides If It’s a Snow Day?
For public and religious schools, your local school board will have the final say on if a snow day is called. Private schools determine if it is a snow day individually. Please keep track of the right mediums of communication based on the type of school your kids attend.
How Can I Find Out If Today Is A Snow Day?
If it is a snow day, your local news will likely let you know whether or not a snow day has been called, especially if your kids attend public school. In the case of a private school, each of them will have a separate policy on how they will let their students and parents of the students know about possible snow days.
How Common Are Snow Days In Canada?
How many snow days happen in Canada varies. This is because Canada is one of the largest countries in the world, almost 10 million square kilometers (3.9 square miles). Here are some guidelines by location:
Atlantic Canada has an extremely high number of snow days due to the high amount of precipitation in the area. The region averages about 4.5 snow days per year. Some years that are particularly harsh might see double-digit numbers.
Quebec features very few school cancellations per year. Although there is some disagreement about the exact number, most estimates for different parts of the province range from 1.75 to 2.
Ontario has similar numbers to its French-speaking neighbour, averaging from 1-2 of these days per year, although some years will see 3-4 of these days per year.
The prairie provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta all see very few snow days, with more than 2 snow days in a year being extremely rare. Manitoba and Saskatchewan can be especially stingy, with many school boards not having snow days multiple years in a row being considered normal.
British Columbia is the most varied, as coastal cities are often temperate enough to now receive enough snow to justify a snow day, although more landlocked cities can get a couple of snow days per year.
Despite having very harsh conditions, the territories of Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut all rarely see school cancelled, since their local infrastructure and municipalities are built with these conditions in mind, and the citizens of these places are used to large amounts of snow.
What Are Some Fun Winter Activities For Students And Adults?
On a snow day, your kids will be stuck at home, and there is a good chance you will need to stay home with them, depending on their age and your parenting style.
Indoor Activities
Sometimes on a cold winter day, it will be too snowy, cold, windy or icy for you to spend much time outside, other than maybe shoveling. Other times, while outside might be available for a few hours, your kids are going to want to spend time inside. In situations like this, it is important to have some fun activities for you and your kids to do indoors.
Watch a snow-based movie. Nothing is a better celebration than letting your kids enjoy a movie based on the day that’s likely giving them so much joy (they get the day off school, and they’re obviously happy). The 2000 kids movie Snow Day might be the perfect fit for younger children.
Arts and crafts. You can have your kids make paper snowflakes, draw pictures of their own winter wonderland, or learn how to use paint to make ice effects, your kids can get something they can hang on the fridge.
Make custom hot chocolate. Your kids probably have wanted to have things like little candy sprinkles in their hot chocolate, and you might have wanted to add a spice or two. This is the perfect opportunity to do so. Make some hot chocolate together and let everyone add a little something to their glass.
Board games and card games. These are a classic for being stuck inside and often challenge you to create unique and creative strategies. Board games have become much more prominent and numerous recently, so you should have plenty of options. Card games have a lot of variety as well, as many games can be played with just a deck of cards.
Outdoor Activities
What use is celebrating a day off school if you can’t go outside? Below are some ideas for fun activities you can enjoy with your kids on a snow day.
Make a snow fort or snowman. These can give your kids a fun challenge, and maybe you should take a picture of what they’ve made when they’re done.
A snowball fight. Kids tend to love these. Ensure that you make sure your kids know how snow safety works, and ensure that these fights don’t get too intense. Maybe use the snow forts from the previous entry as terrain.
Sledding and tobogganing. A winter classic. Just be careful that you and your kids don’t hurt yourself. Be careful of nearby roads and terrain.
How Can I Predict A Snow Day?
There are a handful of signs that a snow day might be coming up tomorrow. Any of the following are signs of a possible school cancellation. Please keep in mind that many of these overlap with each other, and there is no magic formula for being able to make a proper prediction.
Heavy snow. A lot of snow is the most basic sign out there. If there is enough snow that kids will have trouble walking, chances are high that school will be cancelled.
Slippery roads. This is probably the clearest indicator, as snow days are usually called for safety reasons. If roads are too slippery for school buses, one will likely be called.
Absurdly low temperatures. If it is cold enough to get frostbite within seconds, or develop hypothermia, the safety of children outside will be a concern. This increases the chances of school being cancelled due to inclement weather.
Windy. Wind both increases the odds of dangerous whiteout conditions and can lead to a windchill, making it feel colder than it is.
Regardless of whether your kids go to school or have to stay home, it’s best to ensure that you have plans in place in either scenario. Remember that the happiness and safety of your children is one of the most important things for any parent to keep in mind, so don’t overlook this very important duty you have to your kids.